Aircraft structure formed of carbon fiber composite laminates are becoming more common, particularly in high performance military aircraft. These materials replace the traditional materials, such as aluminum, from which aircraft structures have traditionally been made.
One of the advantages of the use of carbon fiber materials is the ease of repair should the aircraft structure become damaged, as by an accident such as a tool or the like damaging the surface or even combat related damage. The repair can be performed by providing sufficient bonding resins and carbon fiber material to the place of repair and bonding the carbon fibers with heat to cure the bonding materials.
In performing such repairs, it is desirable to maintain the temperature of the aircraft structure being repaired at a precise, and uniform temperature consistent with the curing requirements of the bonding material. In the past, it has been common to use a silicone rubber heat blanket with heater wires distributed therethrough to heat the aircraft structure to a desired temperature. However, because of integral heat sinks and nonuniform structure in the aircraft assemblies, it has been difficult to achieve a uniform temperature distribution. A need exists for an apparatus and method to provide a more uniform heat distribution to provide a uniform temperature for the repair.